Cleantech Marketing Gurus: LED Marketing Offers Insights Into Breaking Out of the “Green Market Niche”

When we first checked in with clean energy marketing gurus Cathy L. Hartman and Edwin R. Stafford of Utah State University’s Center for the Market Diffusion of Renewable Energy and Clean Technology last year, it was to discuss the problem of what they call “green marketing myopia.” A key finding of their research on that topic was a seemingly obvious one – that “effective green marketing requires applying good marketing principles to make green products desirable for consumers” – yet one that green marketers don’t always follow successfully.

Now, Hartman and Stafford are out with an article which applies their green marketing principles to one specific product: LED lighting. Given research indicating that “environmentally conscious consumer purchasing accounts for only 1 to 5 percent of the market, a tiny niche,” clearly it’s imperative to broaden the appeal of “green” products to “the other 95 to 99 percent of consumers.” How to do this?
By emphasizing the “green” product’s positive attributes in areas other than “saving the earth.”